Students praise CONEL for ‘incredible support’ in lockdown

Students at the @CollegeNELondon (CONEL) have praised their tutors for their ‘most incredible support’ during lockdown.

The College has been inundated with thank you messages to its teaching staff who have continued to provide lessons online during the coronavirus pandemic.

Engineering student Mohamad Fadi Abou Swid, 19, said: “Even though this pandemic meant I was away from your classes, I have learnt a lot from you and I’m sure that will allow me to be a good engineer in the future. Thank you so much.”

Business student Sherry Fernandes, also 19, said: “Thank you for acknowledging that all of us are going through a hard time one way or another due to this virus.”

Julie Bromwich, 65, who recently took a free short course in Creating and Publishing Webpages, said: “I learnt so much in your class, and under the most difficult of circumstances with Covid lockdown, you still managed to give the most incredible support.”

Teachers have been presenting classes on Microsoft Teams and coming up with innovative ways to give online lessons during the crisis.

Construction tutor Paul Oatham has overcome the difficulty of teaching practical lessons by giving video demonstrations around his own house.

In one lesson he showed how to fix the guttering on his garage and in another he explained how the levers on his boiler affected different taps.

Paul said: “The transition from the classroom to the remote desktop has posed some interesting challenges, and I have had to really think long and hard about what is the best approach to benefit the learners.

“The students themselves have embraced it and on the whole have been engaged. It has just been a matter of getting used to it.”

Creative and Media students have used the Covid-19 pandemic as inspiration while developing their skills in photography and videomaking.

Student Jose Bravocuno, 32, said: “Art is the best medicine for this situation, so during lockdown I’ve prepared my own studio. The virtual lessons are good. I`m learning how to use new technologies and methods of learning.”

In Sport, teachers have devised fun, physical and interactive lessons and workout plans to keep students learning and active.

Sports diploma student Pierrette Simuene, 18, said: “The online classes have been incredibly good, and the experience has been better than I expected. It’s as if we were in college.”